| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Poland 3. CANADA 4. Lithuania 5. Serbia 6. Australia 7. China 8. Germany 9. Argentina 10. Spain 11. Egypt 12. Korea | CANADIANS Anthony Bennett (Brampton, Ont.) Joseph De Ciman (Regina, Sask.) Olivier Hanlan (Gatineau, Que.) Junior Lomomba (Montreal, Que.) Duane Notice (Woodbridge, Ont.) Kevin Pangos (Holland Landing, Ont.) Richard Peters (Pickering, Ont.) Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, Ont.) David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough, Ont.) Andrew Wiggins (Toronto, Ont.) Matthew Wilms (Leamington, Ont.) Roy Rana – coach Kirby Schepp – assistant Nathan Schellenberg – assistant Madhav Trivedi – manager Krisjon Vargas – athletic therapist |
| POOL A | USA | LIT | CHN | SER | ARG | EGY | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 102-66 | 113-73 | 112-75 | 82-70 | 132-64 | (5-0) | ||
| Lithuania | 66-102 | —– | 85-72 | 74-71 | 74-71 | 97-77 | (4-1) | ||
| China | 73-113 | 72-85 | —– | 74-71 | 76-64 | 103-72 | (3-2) | ||
| Serbia | 75-112 | 71-74 | 71-74 | —– | 62-56 | 99-67 | (2-3) | ||
| Argentina | 70-82 | 71-74 | 64-76 | 56-62 | —– | 98-69 | (1-4) | ||
| Egypt | 64-132 | 77-97 | 72-103 | 67-99 | 69-98 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| POOL B | POL | CAN | GER | AUS | SPN | KOR | Record | ||
| Poland | —– | 75-70 | 79-33 | 71-54 | 88-82 | 101-83 | (5-0) | ||
| Canada | 70-75 | —– | 68-69 | 76-68 | 79-72 | 95-74 | (3-2) | ||
| Germany | 33-79 | 69-68 | —– | 58-62 | 74-64 | 78-68 | (3-2) | ||
| Australia | 54-71 | 68-76 | 62-58 | —– | 68-66 | 84-70 | (3-2) | ||
| Spain | 82-88 | 72-79 | 64-74 | 66-68 | —– | 86-71 | (1-4) | ||
| Korea | 83-101 | 74-95 | 68-78 | 70-84 | 71-86 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| QFs | Canada 102 China 96 | |
| QFs | United States 105 Australia 70 | |
| QFs | Lithuania 73 Germany 61 | |
| QFs | Poland 100 Serbia 70 | |
| 9-12th | Argentina 90 Korea 77 | |
| 9-12th | Spain 87 Egypt 62 | |
| 5-8th | Australia 68 China 66 | |
| 5-8th | Serbia 67 Germany 51 | |
| Semi | United States 103 Canada 83 | |
| Semi | Poland 75 Lithuania 65 | |
| 11th | Egypt 88 Korea 87 | |
| 9th | Argentina 66 Spain 56 | |
| 7th | China 65 Germany 64 | |
| 5th | Serbia 74 Australia 64 | |
| Bronze | Canada 83 Lithuania 81 | |
| Final | United States 111 Poland 80 | |
In their opener, the Canadians feel 69-68 to Germany. The Germans took a 17-14 first-quarter lead before Canada went ahead in the second period and tried to pull away shortly before halftime. But a pair of three pointers by Besnik Bekteshi and Malik Mueller closed the gap to one, 34-33, at the break. Germany took hold of the lead in the second half but Canada did not back down. Head coach Roy Rana desperately looked for an opportunity to give guard Kevin Pangos some rest. With Pangos back on court the game was close until the end as Bekteshi hit two free throws to give the hosts a three-point lead with 52 seconds left on the clock. Dyshawn Pierre struck back, finishing strong at the glass to bring Canada within one. On the next possession German forward Julius Wolff missed an open three-pointer giving Canada a chance of winning with the last shot. Pangos nearly lost the ball but managed to find a wide-open Anthony Bennett on the wing, who fired and missed. With less than five seconds on the clock Pangos got his hands on the offensive rebound, but his desperation shot would not go in. “It was a painful loss in our opening game,” said Rana. “I don’t think we played very well but still managed to stay in the game. I give full marks to the German team — they are tough, made tough shots, and played well together. We had two open looks and couldn’t get them to fall, that’s just how the game is sometimes.” Anthony Bennett said “it was a good game but we couldn’t come out with the win. As a team we could have rebounded better and tried to get to the foul line a little more. If we had one of the two, we probably could have won the game. They played stronger than us and did a lot of things to help them win.” German coach Frank Menz said “I am glad we won against a very good Canada team. We played with much confidence, although our players were very nervous at the very beginning of the game. In the end I don’t care how we won this game, the only thing that matters is that we did.” Rana called it “a very painful loss for us on the first game. Bekteshi made a ton of big shots. We got two open look at the end but missed, that’s basketball. We have to prepare our young players for tomorrow’s game and have to take it day by day from now on – there’s a lot of games left.” Besnik Bekteshi paced Germany with 27 on 3-4 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Anselm Hartmann added 14 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 3 boards. Julius Wolf added 6, along with 7 boards, Tim Unterluggauer 6, Bogdan Radosavljevic 6, Malik Tony Gunter Muller 5, Paul Albrecht 2, Fabian Bleck 2 and Jakob Krumbeck 1, while Josip Peric, Niklaj Vukovic and Johannes Richter were scoreless. Germany hit 16-35 (.460) from the floor, 6-19 (.320) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 23 fouls, 24 turnovers, 11 steals and 3 blocks.
Kevin Pangos paced Canada with 26 on 6-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Dyshawn Pierre added 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 2 boards. Anthony Bennett scored 11 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Negus Webster-Chan notched 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 4 boards. Junior Lomomba scored 5 on 1-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. David Wagner added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. Andrew Wiggins notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 3 boards and 4 blocks. Duane Notice scored 2, while Richard Peters, Olivier Hanlan, Deng Joseph De Ciman and Matthew Wilms were scoreless. Canada hit 15-42 (.360) from the floor, 7-18 (.390) from the arc and 17-24 (.710) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 23 fouls, 17 turnovers, 10 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada then
evened its record at 1-1 by defeating Australia 76-68. Canada went on a 21-3
run in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. “Australia gave us everything we
could handle,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “We really struggled with them,
they shot the ball really well from three and are a team that is coached really
well. Huge win for us. We have to take it day by day but it’s a good victory
for Canada.” Neither team wanted to get into early trouble as two losses would
considerably narrow their chances to advance to the quarter-finals. In the
beginning it seemed as though Canada would run away with ease but Australia did
well on defence, keeping the Cadet team’s inside players out of the paint. But
it was nearly halftime before Australia took the lead for the first time, on a
Mitchell Norton jumper. The Australians expanded that lead in the third quarter
thanks to 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range. But Canadian forward Negus
Webster-Chan got himself going in the fourth, scoring seven points in two minutes
as his team regained the scoreboard advantage with a 21-3 run. With time
running down, Australia tried to pressure the ball, which led to easy fastbreak
points for Canada. “First half we weren’t really playing our game but we picked
it up as we went on with more aggressive play by our players,” said Webster-Chan.
“Overall all our guys played well, especially our bench which is what helped us
win.” Rana said that “after we lost against Germany yesterday it was important
to bounce back. We are now looking and playing more positive.” Canada led 24-13
after one quarter and 34-30 at the half. Australia led 57-47 after three quarters.
Anthony Bennett paced Canada with 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc,
3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 blocks. Junior Lomomba added 11 on 4-5 from
the floor and 3-5 from the line. Dyshawn Pierre scored 11 on 3-5 from the floor,
1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 10 boards. Kevin Pangos notched 9 on
1-4 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 3
assists. Duane Notice scored 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 6
boards and 2 steals. Negus Webster-Chan added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from
the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Olivier Hanlan scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor
and 1-2 from the arc. David Wagner added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the
line and 6 boards. Andrew Wiggins scored 4, while Richard Peters, Deng Joseph
De Ciman and Matthews Willms were scoreless. Canada hit 21-40 (.530) from the
floor, 5-21 (.240) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering
48 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 14 fouls, 20
turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Mitchell Norton paced Australia with 15 on
3-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 steals. Jarrod Fryar added
12 on 3-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Samuel Gilmore notched 10 on 2-2 from the
floor and 2-2 from the arc. Daniel Carlin scored 10 on 3-10 from the floor and
4-8 from the line. Owen Odigie added 9 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc,
2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Andrija Dumovic notched 6, Daniel
Hill 4 and Philip Chircu 2, while Cory Richardson, Ashley Constable, Taylor
Dyson and Thomas Downie were scoreless. Australia hit 16-44 (.360) from the
floor, 9-23 (.390) from the arc and 9-14 (.640) from the line, while garnering
33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 26 fouls, 15 turnovers,
10 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada then clocked 2nd-ranked
Spain 79-72 after leading by as many as 14. “We played a great first half,
probably the best as a team,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “We let it slide a
bit in the second half but came back in the fourth quarter and toughed it out.
Our bench played well with guys like [Richard] Peters, Pierre Hanlan and
[Andrew] Wiggins.” Duane Notice said “we came out hard in the first half. I was
thinking about my defensive assignments and focused on certain match ups.” The
Spaniards had a tough time in the first half, hitting just 11 of their 40 field
goal attempts. The score was tied at 18 to end the opening period but Canada
defended well inside and forced Daniel Diez and his teammates to make shots from
beyond the arc. Their defensive strategy worked well as the Europeans had just
three makes out of 17 tries at the break, and went in trailing 41-30. Pangos
dictated the tempo. “I got more players involved and felt more comfortable on
the court,” he said. “I was looking to attack more rather than rely on my
three-point shot.” The Spaniards came out firing in the third quarter and a 16-3
run saw them edge in front, 46-44. Then Olivier Hanlan buried a three-pointer
to halt the Spanish barrage. Still, Canada trailed 55-54 at the end of the
period. The Canadians would go on a drought early in the final frame as they
turned the ball over. Their first field goal of the period came on a Pangos lay-up
with just over six minutes left to play to get within six, 63-57. But then they
took command and eventually outscored the Spaniards 25-17 in the quarter. With
two minutes remaining, Pangos found Pierre for a two-hand dunk before Jaime
Fernandez made a layup for Spain. Notice drove to the hoop on the next trip
down the court to put Canada up 71-70. Finally, Pangos fed a teammate for an
easy two and Notice hit a pair from the free-throw line to seal the win. “I
think we are doing well so far as a team,” added Pangos. “We are showing signs
that Canada can be one of the best teams in the world, especially after beating
countries like Spain and Argentina.” Spain coach Diego Ocampo said “we played a
hard game. We had too many turnovers in the second half that gave Canada easy
breaks.” Rana said “this has not been an easy game for us. It is a huge win for
our country. With Anthony Bennett being benched due to injury in the second
half we had several other players to step up – which they did. It was a bench
win.” Kevin Pangos paced Canada with 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 5-6 from the
line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Duane Notice added 13 on 4-6 from the floor, 5-8
from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dyshawn Pierre added 10 on 5-7 from the
floor, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Junior Lomomba scored 8 on
4-9 from the floor and 2 steals. Olivier Hanlan added 8 on 2-2 from the floor,
1-1 from the arc and 1-4 from the line. Negus Webster-Chan notched 7 on 1-2
from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. David Wagner added 7
on 3-7 from the floor and 1-4 from the line. Richard Peters added 4, along with
4 boards, Andrew Wiggins 4 and Anthony Bennett 3, along with 5 boards. Deng
Joseph De Ciman scored 2, while Matthew Willms was scoreless. Canada hit 26-55
(.470) from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 18-31 (.580) from the line, while
garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 20 fouls,
16 turnovers, 9 steals and 6 blocks. Jorge Sanza Rodriguez paced Spain with 15
on 3-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists
and 5 steals. Daniel Diez De La Faya added 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-3 from
the line and 8 boards. Jaime Fernandez Bernabe added 13 on 2-5 from the floor,
3-10 from the arc and 4 assists. Javier Medori Morales added 8 on 2-7 from the
floor, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Ricardo Pampoano Muniz added 8,
Alejandro Suarez Castro 7, Luis Conde Gonzales 4 and Fernando Cerqueira Monedero
3, while Alex Ramond Fernandez, Luis Costa Martinez, Mamdou Diop Gaye and Julen
Imanol Olaizola Gonzalez were scoreless. Spain hit 17-40 (.430) from the floor,
8-29 (.280) from the arc and 14-23 (.610) from the line, while garnering 43
boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 25 fouls, 17 turnovers
and 12 steals.
Canada captured its third consecutive win by dusting Korea 95-74. “This win is very good for our team spirit,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “The road ahead of is not very easy as we face Poland now.” Canada overcame the absence of small forward Anthony Bennett. As expected, Korea tried to set the pace of the game by establishing their beloved run-and-run style. Canada went with it but also played some very efficient transition defense. Kevin Pangos made the most of the rapid pace of the game to score 11 points and hand out six assists in the first half as Roy Rana’s side led 52-28 at the break. Korea were struggling in most categories. The only bright spot was their accuracy from the free-throw line. What the Koreans could not do as a team, Pangos did single-handedly: he knew when and how to slow down the tempo of the game. The 17-year-old 6-1 guard set up his team’s half-court sets to great effect as Canada kept building a commanding lead midway through the third quarter and that allowed Rana used the final frame to try out different line-ups. Athletic small forward Bennett missed out for Canada after suffering a jaw injury in the game against Spain. Korea coach Seung Hwan Kim said “I can only congratulate Canada. Canada’s individual abilities were very good and their team play was just as good.” Canada led 27-18, 52-28 and 70-48 at the quarters. Junior Lomomba paced Canada with 20 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Dyshawn Pierre added 14 on 7-8 from the floor, 10 boards and 2 blocks. Kevin Pangos notched 11 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7 boards and 7 assists. Olivier Hanlan scored 11 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Richard Peters scored 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 8 boards. Duane Notice notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 6 steals. Andrew Wiggins added 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Negus Webster-Chan scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. David Wagner added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 assists. Matthew Willms notched 3 and Deng Joseph De Ciman 1. Canada hit 32-56 (.560) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 16-24 (.670) from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 22 fouls, 22 turnovers, 12 steals and 6 blocks. Seonggon Moon paced Korea with 27 on 4-7 from the floor, 5-11 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Jonghyun Lee notched 11 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Moonho Jang added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 7 boards. Sanghyeok Han added 9 on 1-2 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Hyeongjun Kim added 7, Ung Heo 4, Seongmo Choi 3 and Huiwon Han 3, while Changjin Choi, Seungwoook Choi, Dong Yeop Lee and Younggi Bang were scoreless. Korea hit 12-37 (.370) from the floor, 9-31 (.290) from the arc and 23-26 (.880) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada closed out round robin play by falling 75-70 to Poland. “I thought it was a fairly well-played game on both ends during the majority of the game,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “We executed our game plan really well. However, we were a little sloppy with the ball and that was the difference.” Kevin Pangos tied the game midway through the third quarter at 45-45, but Poland regained the lead going into the fourth. The Canadians went on an 8-0 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Poles hit timely three-point shots to regain control. David Wagner said “as a whole, it was a solid game for us. The first 36 minutes of the game was a war and it could have gone either way. They just took it in the end.” Canada led 23-18 after one quarter. Poland led 37-30 at the half and 55-50 after three quarters. Michal Michalak paced Poland with 14 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards and 4 steals. Przemyslaw Marcin Karnowski added 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 6-10 from the line, 10 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Mateusz Michal Ponitka added 11 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 5 assists. Grzegorz Michal Grochowski added 9, Piotr Niedzwiedzki 9, Daniel Szymkiewicz 8, Tomasz Gielo 5, along with 8 boards, Jakub Jaroslaw Koelner 3 and Filip Henryk Matczak 2, while Lukasz Bonarek, Pawel Spica and Dawid Kolakowski were scoreless. Poland hit 13-22 (.410) from the floor, 10-27 (.370) from the arc and 19-27 (.700) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 16 fouls, 16 turnovers, 12 steals and 6 blocks. Kevin Pangos paced Canada with 22 on 7-7 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 9 boards and 6 assists. Dyshawn Pierre added 15 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 13 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Duane Notice scored 7 on 1-2 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Junior Lomomba added 6 on 2-9 from the floor and 6 boards. David Wagner scored 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 10 boards. Andrew Wiggins added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Richard Peters added 5, Deng Joseph De Ciman 3 and Olivier Hanlan 2, while Negus Webster-Chan and Matthew Willms were scoreless. Anthony Bennett did not play. Canada hit 23-54 (.430) from the floor, 4-18 (.220) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 19 fouls, 19 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks.
Canada finished (3-2) in round robin play and qualified for the quarterfinals. “I’m very happy and it’s great that we’re going to get a chance to play in the quarter final round,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “They have all been big games, but now the stakes are even higher because we’re in the final eight. We’re going to take it one step at a time to get to that final four.”
In the quarterfinals, Anthony Bennett returned from injury on Friday to lead Canada to a 102-96 win over China. “First of all, I want to congratulate China on a great result and on a great Chinese team that never quit,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “This is a great accomplishment for our country, for our kids, and now we have an opportunity to reach our goal in trying to compete for a medal. I don’t think we played very well [as a team]. … I don’t like to single out players on wins but Anthony Bennett was unbelievable and was the reason we won.” The Canadians were on fire from beyond the arc as they converted 48 per cent of their 29 three-point field goal attempts. Bennett and Hanlan each made four three-pointers while Pangos and Webster-Chan had three each. “It was a hard game but we had to come out with the victory,” said Bennett. “They hit a lot of threes and we got in foul trouble but we had to fight through it. I was upset when the doctors said I couldn’t play but thankfully I got healthy quick.” The Canadians again put up a strong effort on the glass, outrebounding China by 12. Canada led 28-20, 50-42 and 81-70 at the quarters. Anthony Bennett led Canada with 29 on 7-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 3-7 from the line, 14 boards, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Negus Webster-Chan added 16 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Kevin Pangos added 15 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Olivier Hanlan added 14 on 4-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Andrew Wiggins notched 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and 2 boards. Junior Lomomba scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor. Dyshawn Pierre added 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 3 boards. Duane Notice scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Richard Peters added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. David Wagner, Deng Joseph De Ciman and Matthew Willms were scoreless. Canada hit 22-49 (.450) from the floor, 14-29 (.480) from the arc and 16-28 (.570) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 23 fouls, 18 turnovers, 10 steals and 5 blocks. Ailun Guo paced China with 28 on 8-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6-10 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Xiaochuan Zhai added 18 on 3-3 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 assists. Zirui Wang scored 13 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 13 boards. Tao Xu added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Xuhang Zhu added 9, Hanchen Luo 7, Zhelin Wang 7, Pengfei Yan 2 and Pu Wang 2, while Jiguang Bi, Jiaxin Ma and Dong Wei were scoreless. China hit 24-44 (.550) from the floor, 10-30 from the arc and 18-29 (.620) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 23 fouls, 15 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks.
In the semis, the United States stomped Canada 103-83. Canada fell behind by 20 points at the beginning of the second quarter 17-37, but Kevin Pangos would not accept to go down without a fight. The point guard gathered his troops, re-arranged them and stroke back – thunderous. Sporting good transition defense Canada cut the deficit to a 42-48 halftime score. Bradley Beal drove his team for a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 42-55. Pangos hit two consecutive shots from long range. With defense focusing on Pangos, it was 15-year-old Andrew Wiggins, who skyed in for a monster jam and another layer to rally Canada within 62-58. After a US timeout, Michael Gilchrist and co had their game faces on, but it took them until the last stanza, before finally breaking Canada’s will. “We played hard tonight,” Wiggins said. “I just wanted to play my game and go hard.” The United States took control of the final quarter as they outscored the Canadians 28-18. “They have a pretty special group of players,” Canadian coach Roy Rana said of the USA. “They play as a team and have some outstanding individuals. We made it interesting for three of the four quarters. Overall, I think that the difference was on the glass. I am proud of our kids, I think we showed today that Canadian basketball is on the rise.” USA coach Don Showalter said “hats off to their coaching staff and to all their players. They have improved a lot in this past year and will get better with each year. For us, [Marquis] Teague here came off the bench and ignited our defence.” The US led 30-17, 48-42 and 75-65 at the quarters. Michael Gilchrist paced the US with 30 on 11-15 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 15 boards and 2 steals. Bradley Beal added 17 on 2-3 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Adonis Thomas added 12 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. James McAdoo scored 10 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 12 boards. Quinn Cook added 9, Andre Drummond 9, along with 6 boards, Anthony Wroten 8, along with 6 assists, Marques Teague 6 and Chasson Randle 2, while Justin Anderson, Johnny O’Bryant III and Virgil Parker Jr. were scoreless. The US shot 33-61 (.540) from the floor, 7-26 (.270) from the arc and 16-24 (.670) from the line, while garnering 60 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 21 fouls, 21 turnovers, 14 steals and 9 blocks. Andrew Wiggins paced Canada with 20 on 7-12 from the floor, 6-9 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Kevin Pangos added 17 on 1-3 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Junior Lomomba notched 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Anthony Bennett scored 7 on 1-3 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Dyshawn Pierre added 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 15 boards. Negus Webster-Chan added 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Duane Notice scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Richard Peters added 4, Olivier Hanlan 3 and David Wagner 2, along with 4 boards. Deng Joseph De Ciman and Matthew Willms were scoreless. Canada hit 24-57 (.420) from the floor, 6-23 (.260) from the arc and 17-28 (.610) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 21 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
In the bronze medal match, Canada edged Lithuania 83-81. “This game is another historic win for Canada,” said Canadian coach Roy Rana. “There has only been one or two times that Canada has medalled at the worlds … and for these young kids to do this in the beginning of their career will only raise all of our expectations in a good way for these guys to have that self-confidence to play internationally.” Junior Lomomba said “having the Canadian jersey on your chest, and playing for your country knowing that the whole entire world is watching … it’s unbelievable. I think people are going to start to realize that we have a lot of great talent and we are winners.” Both teams came out strong in the first quarter, although Canada again played without Anthony Bennett. The Canadians knew it would be tough battle with the adverse conditions – no air conditioning in the gym and playing a European team in Europe. The Lithuanian fans were chanting behind the Canadian bench throughout the game. But Canada came with one mission and focus – play tough. At the end of the first quarter, Canada trailed 28-24 but the squad battled back to chip away at Lithuania’s lead controlling the second stanza 16-15. At halftime coach Rana took the team outside to cool off and motivate them for the second half, and his players did not disappoint. They led the third period 19-18, now down only two to Lithuania. It would all come down to last 10 minutes. A trey by Kevin Pangos gave Canada the 68-67 lead at the 6:16 mark of the fourth quarter. Lithuania bounced back, but was outplayed by Olivier Hanlan’s three point-play which knotted the score at 77. At the 1:00 mark Mantas Mockevicius drove hard to the cup, got fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the line. Lithuania collected the offensive rebound, Paulius Semaska hit a huge triple to make it 77-81. But Hanlan was not done yet, raised on a trey of his own and initially closed the gap (80-81). Lithuania could not score the following possession and sent Hanlan to the line with 13.7 seconds left on the clock. Canada’s youngster hit both, pressuring the Europeans to score. Lithuania fell short on its last attempt, had to foul once more, as Dyshawn Pierre put the nail in the coffin (83-81), while the whole bench erupted as the final buzzer sounded only seconds later. Hanlan was fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound with 13 seconds left and made both free throws to put Canada ahead 82-81. Pierre iced the victory with a final free throw. “A lot of these kids are used to playing to win,” Rana said. “Every one of these kids came here thinking that we were good enough to win a medal. We lived up to our potential. In the end this was a great team effort by all 12 of our players.” There has been only one other time in the history of the world championships that a Canadian men’s team has medalled. In 2005, the U21 Men’s team claimed bronze at the FIBA World Championship in Argentina. “This is an important step in the lives of these young men and an even more vital leap forward in the evolution of Canadian basketball,” commented Wayne Parrish, CEO and Executive Director for Canada Basketball. “We’re working very hard to become a force on the global stage and with this result the basketball world can’t help but notice.” Rana said “this was a team willing to make sacrifices for each other in order to be successful. From Matt Willms, our 12th man who understood the long-term goal, to our captains Pangos, Bennett and Notice, this is a selfless group, and we are all focused on the same goal.” Pangos added, “Our toughness. Coach Rana was always telling us that we have to be tough, stay level-headed and good things can happen. … This is different … it is definitely the best feeling I have had in my basketball career. It feels unbelievable. I’m looking forward to standing on that podium wearing Canada on my chest.” Pangos, who was also the team’s highest scorer overall, earned additional honours by being named to the All-Tournament Five as the best point guard of the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship. Pangos continued, “I hope that this victory can be a big statement that Canada has great young talent coming up. Hopefully, within our country as well since basketball is on the rise in Canada. I also hope when we get back, and not just after this game, that the basketball community continues to be supportive of Canada Basketball.” Lithuania assistant coach Egidijus Zehevicius said “first of all I want to congratulate my team, all of my players, they did a good job here. A fourth-place position in the World Championship is very good. But now we are a little bit sad after losing this game.” Lithuanian forward Simonas Kymantas said “Congratulations Canada, it was a good match. At the end we did not manage to defend. They shot that three-pointer and I think that was the deciding shot. We were fouling them and they were just making free-throws and we did not quite manage to come back into the game.” Rana added that “first of all, I can assure you that it was just as exciting from the bench as it was for all the fans. It was nerve wracking, the Lithuanians, they are a very good, tough, strong team. In many ways you wonder how we pulled that one out, but we found our way down the stretch. I thought we made good shots, we came out really aggressive in the fourth. This is a huge win for our country, this is a huge win for these kids. A lot of them gave up two summers, they worked extremely hard from day one. It’s a special moment for Canadian basketball and I am hoping to see many of these players continue to represent our country for many years to come and hopefully they will continue with success. We are going to enjoy this moment.” Olivier Hanlan said “it was a really tough game, they are a very good team. We struggled at the beginning but stuck to our game and we won the game. Everybody, even the bench played well.” Lithuania led 28-24, 43-40 and 61-58 at the quarters. Olivier Hanlan paced Canada with 15 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Junior Lomomba added 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Kevin Pangos added 13 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Negus Webster-Chan added 13 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dyshawn Pierre notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 9 boards. Andrew Wiggins added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. David Wagner added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 boards, while Duane Notice, Richard Peters, Deng Joseph De Ciman and Matthew Willms were scoreless. Canada hit 23-53 (.430) from the floor, 7-19 (.370) from the arc and 16-26 (.620) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 11 turnovers, 10 steals and 1 block. Martynas Paliukenas paced Lithuania with 18 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Osvaldas Olisevicius added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 6 boards. Mantas Mockevicius notched 16 on 7-14 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Simonas Kymantas added 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 14 boards. Paulius Semaska added 7, Rokas Markevcius 6, Aurimas Majauskas 3, Tomas Lekunas 3 and Simonas Lekys 2, while Aurimas Urbonas, Marijus Uzupis and Laimonas Chatkevicius were scoreless. Lithuania hit 23-41 (.560) from the floor, 8-24 (.333) from the arc and 11-16 (.690) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 24 fouls, 18 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks.
Kevin Pangos was chosen to the all-tournament team and named the affair’s best point guard. He was joined on the all-tournament by Mateusz Ponitka (Poland); James McAdoo (United States); Bradley Beal (United States) and Przemyslav Karnowski (Poland).
Over the course of the tournament, coach Roy Rana said Canada desperately needed a professional league for young players. “We have loads of talent in Canada. In our traditional high-school system we find many good players. But this is not enough, which is why it is so important to bring basketball into the prep schools just to start basketball education earlier.” In his opinion, the number of basketball clubs is increasing a lot and that this could be another priceless resource for Canadian basketball in the future: “Especially in Ontario there are a lot of clubs now, where you can play basketball, not only in the high schools or Universities.” Canada Basketball is trying to centralize the young players to work with them more intensively. But the huge travel distances in Canada obviously cause certain travel problems. “The solution is that we installed a satellite system on a regional level. This is working well”, Rana adds. “The big plan for the future of Canada Basketball is to continue developing talent more and more. And to change our biggest weakness: not to have a pro league! We need to have a league for our 22-25-year-old players. We have to give this age group the chance to play and develop in our country!”